What Trump Mentioned About ‘Stunning’ and ‘Liberal’ Taylor Swift
Photograph-Illustration: Intelligencer; Images: Getty
Through the years, Donald Trump has repeatedly embarrassed himself by choosing fights with musicians who’re a lot cooler than he’s, from John Legend to Rihanna. Now it appears Trump has realized his lesson slightly too nicely. Moderately than lashing out at Taylor Swift, Trump has taken the alternative strategy: He retains complimenting her publicly and suggesting she may endorse him within the 2024 election. This simply makes Trump look pathetic, because it’s fairly clear that she received’t.
The newest proof that Trump is in deep denial about his standing as a Swift foe comes from the brand new e-book Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America By the Trying Glass. In a November 2023 interview with the writer, Selection co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh, Trump was requested to share his ideas on the Eras Tour artist.
He might have mentioned one thing noncommittal. As a substitute, in keeping with a e-book excerpt launched by Selection, Trump gushed about how “stunning” Swift is, which is the very best praise he can consider for a girl:
Trump, normally one to punch again at critics, is sensible sufficient to know Swift’s fame is on one other degree. “She’s acquired a fantastic star high quality,” Trump says. “She actually does.” Trump is effusive as he makes use of one in every of his favourite adjectives to explain girls — “stunning” — a number of instances in a row.
“I believe she’s stunning — very stunning! I discover her very stunning. I believe she’s liberal. She in all probability doesn’t like Trump. I hear she’s very gifted. I believe she’s very stunning, truly — unusually stunning!” It’s her fame, not her songcraft, that fascinates Trump. When requested about Swift’s music, performed so regularly on the radio that it’s inescapable in every day life, he says, “Don’t understand it nicely.”
Weeks later, CNN performed the audio recording of what Trump mentioned about Swift:
It’s considerably believable that Trump doesn’t know a lot about Swift’s music. Whereas there’s video of Trump driving round a listening to “Clean Area,” it doesn’t appear that Swift songs get a lot play when the previous president is DJing at Mar-a-Lago. However Trump strained credulity when he urged that as a “nation star,” Swift may secretly be MAGA:
Past Swift’s appears to be like, what intrigues Trump probably the most is the thought — regularly bandied about on-line earlier than she endorsed the Democratic Senate candidate in Tennessee in 2018 — that she might secretly be supporting him. “However she is liberal, or is that simply an act?” he asks me. “She’s legitimately liberal? It’s not an act? It surprises me {that a} nation star could be profitable being liberal.”
I inform Trump that Swift is now not a rustic star; she’s been making pop music for years. He doesn’t appear conscious of this, however he reaches for a distinct title. “Garth Brooks is liberal. Clarify that! How does it occur? However he’s liberal.” Trump trails off. “It’s a kind of issues …”
Nobody ought to anticipate a 77-year-old show-tune lover to have his finger on the heartbeat of American pop music. However you’d suppose that Trump would keep in mind how Swift repeatedly criticized him on Twitter within the lead as much as the 2020 election and endorsed his opponent, Joe Biden, a number of months later:
The Swifties weren’t shopping for the concept that the star may secretly like Trump; the phrase “STAY AWAY FROM HER” trended on X on Monday, in keeping with Newsweek. And Swift has given no indicators that she may lean to the precise. She launched an entire documentary about her choice to talk out towards GOP Tennessee Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn within the 2018 midterms, she’s regularly spoken out in favor of LGBTQ rights, and the Eras Tour opens with the anti-Trump music “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince.”
Whether or not Trump was truly unaware of Swift’s political opinions or simply enjoying dumb, he acquired up to the mark inside a matter of months. By January 2024, he was reportedly fretting about whether or not Swift was extra in style than him and what may occur if she backs Biden once more. And on Tremendous Bowl Sunday, he virtually begged Swift to not endorse Joe in a put up on Fact Social:
Since Trump’s technique for profitable Swift over appears to ivolve calling her fairly, admitting he’s unfamiliar together with her work, and taking credit score for her monetary success, Biden in all probability doesn’t have to fret about dropping her endorsement.
This put up has been up to date to incorporate audio of Trump’s remarks.
